A Nice Rebound
by lizashford
Summary: Tifa goes through a rough breakup but her friend Cloud is there for the rebound! Those relationships never end well though, do they? Rated M for language, citrus, and LEMON in later chapters!
1. Chapter 1

~ Disclamer ~

I do not own Final Fantasy VII or any of the characters. (If I did then I wouldn't be writing fanfiction now would I? :P )

Chapter 1

Tifa woke up to the insistent sound of her phone vibrating on her nightstand. '_I gotta remember to turn that damn thing off before I fall asleep'. _She thought to herself as she sat up and grabbed her phone.

"Hello?" She asked. "Hey Tifa!" came Yuffie's chipper voice on the other end. "We're going to have a little pool party at my house, you wanna come over? We can swim, drink sweet tea, and make cookies, and play DDR!"

"Um...I'm not sure" Tifa replied with hesitation, Yuffie however replied promptly with none "Come on! You can't stay depressed forever! Yeah Kadaj broke your heart and has treated you like crap but you just need to hang with your friends and forget about him! Or find some new hottie to help ease your pain".

Tifa winced at Kadaj's name, it had only been two weeks since the break up. The horrible lie he told, how betrayed she felt. How she could never get back what he took from her. "Cloud will be here! You know he has a crush on you!" came Yuffie's voice once again. "What?" responded Tifa, "I've known him since like the third grade, there's no way I could ever think of him as more than a friend. Besides, what makes you think he feels that way about me anyway?"

"Well, how much he asks about you is a dead giveaway. I overheard him say something to Kadaj about how it was cool you like video games and all" Yuffie replied. Tifa sighed into the phone "That doesn't mean anything! You and Aerith both play games too yet he didn't say anything about you two."

"That's because he knows I'm taken by my Vinnie! And I don't think he knows Aerith well enought to try and hit on her. He seems really shy to me. It's kind of cute on him though! Please Tifa, come over! You'll have lots of fun I promise!"

Tifa sighed into the phone once again as she threw her covers off of herself, "Fine" she replied. "Give me about an hour and then I'll head over."

"Yay! I'm sure Cloud will love to hear that you're coming!"

Tifa then stood and slunked off to the bathroom to get ready. She washed her face and brushed her teeth like any other morning and like most of her recent mornings she thought about Kadaj and their last encounter with one another. She quickly shook the thoughts away though, '_Not today'_ she thought. _'Today I'm just going to spend this time with my friends and forget about that asshole.'_

Deciding to skip breakfast and mooch some food from Yuffie when she got there Tifa quickly dressed in shorts, a tight tank top and sneakers and then left the house.

When Tifa arrived at Yuffie's she just walked into the house without knocking like she usually did. "Wow! You're early!" yelled Yuffie when she saw her enter. "Tifa!" came Aerith's voice from the side. It was close. Really close. Tifa turned to look but almost fell backwards as Aerith tightly hugged her and held onto her.

"Ugh, too tight Aerith! It's nice to see you too though!" Tifa smiled as her other best friend continued to latch onto her. "C'mon now, I have to go stash my things in Yuffie's room".

"Alright, we'll be out back swimming so don't be a slowpoke!" said Aeriith as she pranced to the back door.

"Who all's here anyway?" asked Tifa as she turned to Yuffie who was stirring a pitcher of sweet tea on the kitchen counter.

"Hmmmm, Vinnie of course! And Cloud. And Zack too I think. "Tifa smiled to herself, "I should've known Zack would be here if Vincent and Cloud were. Those three are dangerous when they're together, you know that right?"

"Vincent promised they would behave and he'd better or they can just starve tonight!" yelled Yuffie.

Tifa laughed as she turned to head up the stairs to Yuffie's room. Yuffie's dad was a bigshot in a security company so she was treated like a princess, and her room definitely showed it. It was large, twice the size of Tifa's, and had a queen sized bed in it as well. It did have her personality in it however, with her clothes strung everywhere and random weapons strung about that she loved to play with. Tifa set her things at the end of her friends bed and turned to exit the room.

"Hey Zack, do you still have my phone?" Tifa thought that was Cloud's voice she heard yelling, it didn't sound too far away either. Sure enough, as Tifa exited Yuffie's room she ran right into him as he was exiting the guest bedroom next door.

"Oh sorry -" Cloud started then he realized who it was. "Oh hey Tifa, you got here pretty fast. Yuffie said it would take you an hour or so."

Tifa tried to respond but she was momentarily speechless. She had bumped into Cloud, a boy whom she had been friends with for about ten years but she had NEVER seen him shirtless. Yet here he was standing in front of her wearing jeans but no shirt. She felt her face heat up and she tried her best not to stare at his toned chest that was so close to her. _'Oh so very close'._

"You okay?" he asked. Her eyes immediately shot up and she took a step back "Yeah! I'm fine, sorry about that!" she replied then made a mad dash for the stairs. Her face felt like a thousand suns to her and she kept scolding herself for being so embaressed. _'Damn it! Pull yourself together Tifa! He's your FRIEND, you can't think of him that way! It's not like you havent' seen a shirtless boy before. Okay, maybe you haven't seen one with that hot of a body up close but- wait! I did not call Cloud's body HOT just now!' _Her thoughts continued to spiral out of control and she couldn't help but feel this was going to be a VERY long day.

Read and review if you want! No flames though because I really just won't care if you do so you'll just be wasting your energy. I do however appreciate good reviews and will be more motivated to write if they are good and friendly. I will also do my best to respond to any questions you have. Thank you 3


	2. Chapter 2

Hey guys! Thanks to your nice reviews I have been inspired to write again so enjoy! Feel free to ask questions if you have any as well.

Disclaimer!

I don't own Final Fantasy VII or any of the video games mentioned in this fanfic. Just the awkward situation I'm forcing them into. :P

Chapter 2

Tifa went outside to meet her friends, and she wasn't surprised by the sight she was met with . Zack and Vincent were both tormenting Aerith and Yuffie by tipping them off of their floating loungers as they tried to stay on them. Tifa began to strip out of her regular clothes to reveal her plain red bikini she was wearing underneath them.

"Hurry Tifa! You've gotta help us!" yelled Yuffie as she tried desperatly to dunk Vincent underwater but to no avail, Aerith then squealed as Zack grabbed ahold of her and dunked her. "I'm not sure if I want to be a part of this," chuckled Tifa as she stood at the edge of the pool and watched her friends lose their tug of war with the loungers.

"Too late," said a voice direcly behind her as she felt strong arms grab a hold of her waist and lift her up. She immediatly blushed, she knew who it was alright. She was very glad she wasn't facing him because she knew she was blushing. She could feel his muscles against her, _'When did they get so big? Heck when did he even GET muscles?' _She only had moments to form the thought as Cloud jumped off the edge and plunged them both in the water.

He held her tightly against him as they went under but let go as soon as their feet touched the bottom. Tifa quickly kicked the floor of the pool to get away from his as fast as she could swim. She gasped for air when she reached the surface and swam towards the edge to grab onto for support. She heard both Zack and Yuffie laughing very loudly behind her, "Nice one Cloud!" Zack called as he grabbed his friend by the shoulders.

_'Oh I'm going to get him for that one' _thought Tifa with a grin. "You okay?" asked Aerith who was still laughing at her friend's demise. "Yeah, because I plan to get him back." said Tifa as she grinned and looked across to meet Cloud's eyes.

"Oh! Did you hear that Cloud? That sounds like a challenge to me!" said Zack who still had a wide grin spread across his face. Cloud shrugged in response with a smirk on his face, "I'm not too worried."

"It wouldn't be smart to underestimate her Cloud. Remember what happened last time?" commented Vincent. Tifa grinned because she knew what Vincent was referring to. It was the time Cloud decided to play Dead or Alive against her after he heard how good she was at it. Her grin then faded as she recalled where that challenge took place at. Kadaj's bonfire. _'Dammit. He's not supposed to be in my thoughts at all today.' _She thought to herself.

"Boy that was a fun night! It's not every day Cloud admits defeat after all." Zack said as he climbed on top of one of the loungers to claim for himself. Tifa dove underwater and came up underneath it to successfully throw him off it and into Cloud. Yuffie immediatly burst out laughing, "Yeah! Two in one blow! War is now declared!" she yelled pumping her fists into the air.

Tifa felt something, or rather someone, grab onto her ankles underwater. She looked down to see them yanked from underneath her and then she too was underwater. Tifa squirmed and tried her best to stay afloat. She wasn't surprised to see that it was Cloud who held her legs hostage and he looked very satisfied with himself. She then felt Vincent grab ahold of her underarms and then they were both holding her just above the water. They then procedid to swing her back and forth a couple times and tossed her back in.

They continued playing this little game of dunking, or attempting to dunk, one another for a while longer. At one point Tifa jumped on Cloud's back to try and dunk him but he then quickly grabbed onto her and turned around to dunk her instead. For the briefest of moments during that encounter though, Tifa swore that her boobs came in direct contact with his face, she immediately blushed and thought she saw the same reaction on his face before she was thrust underwater.

"This is getting boring! Let's play chicken!" Yuffie panted as she clung onto the sides. "Tired of losing already?" commented Zack with a grin.

"We didn't lose! It was a tie!" she retorted pointing a finger at him.

"Of course it was Yuffie," said Vincent as he rubbed his girlfriend's back comfortingly.

"Count me out, I need time to rest" Aerith said. She was now perched on the side of the pool leaning with her hands behind her.

"Alright, me and Cloud on a team then!" Zack called giving a thumbs up in his friend's direction.

"No." Cloud's response was immediate and caused the rest of them, besides Zack of course, to laugh.

"Whaaaaat? But we'd be unstoppable Cloud! I'll even let you be on top!"

"No. Oh god no."

"Fine! You can be bottom, whichever you prefer!" The rest of them couldn't stop laughing at their exchange.

"No! Tifa's my partner so please stop!" said Cloud who was now trying to hold back laughter as well.

Tifa's sides were hurting from laughing so much but those words brought her back to reality, _'Wait. What did he just say?'_

"Yeah! Let's kick their butts Vinnie!" shouted Yuffie who was already perched atop Vincent's shoulders.

"You ready Tifa?" asked Cloud looking towards her. "Um, oh, yeah! I guess. What do I do?" she asked not knowing how she was going to get on top of him.

"Just stay where you are," he replied before he dove underwater. Tifa soon felt him swim underneath her and felt the back of his neck press against her. She froze in place and let out a little squeal as she was lifted out of the water and sat perched on his broad shoulders. She then felt his hands grab a hold of her legs to help stead her and hold her in place.

She couldn't remember Cloud ever being this close to her. _'Okay I just need to calm down. This is no big deal. I'm just still flustered from seeing him shirtless is all. How did I not notice how big his arms and shoulders were before? I swear this happened to him over night or something!'_

She prepared herself as Yuffie and vincent came towards them, she grabbed Yuffie's hands in her own and easily prevented her from pushing her off. She grinned at all of Yuffie's attempts and then finally used her own strength to push her friend off of Vincent's shoulders.

They played chicken for another hour or so, switching partners every once in a while. Tifa took note that being on Vincent or Zack's shoulders did not make her nervous either, and this was her first time seeing them shirtless too! _'God how are they all so ripped?' _She thought to herself, taking note how finely toned they all turned out to be. Being so close to those two shirtless didn't make her nervous like it did with Cloud though either and this bothered Tifa to no end.

They spent the rest of the day eating junk food and playing video games (DDR mostly, though Zack was really the onlly guy that would actively participate). It was towards evening when the guys began to leave.

"Does anyone need a ride home?" asked Vincent.

"No, they're spending the night with me tonight," replied Yuffie with a large grin.

"Well what're you ladies planning on doing tomorrow?" asked Zack, "Cloud, Vincent, and I were talking about seeing that movie that's coming out tomorrow. You ladies wanna come too?"

"Is it that new horror film? The one with all the zombies?" asked Aerith.

"That's the one alright," replied Cloud.

"Sure! That sounds like fun! Right girls?" said Yuffie as she jumped up and down.

"Yeah, it's been a while since I saw a horror film," said Aerith with a smile.

"Are you up for it Tifa?" Cloud asked as he turned to look at her.

"Yes! Are you kidding me? That's the one that's based off of a video game so of course I'm in!" Tifa was super excited for it now. _'Hopefully this will make me feel normal around him again' _ she thought. They had seen movies together before so this should definitely get things back to normal between them.

She didn't miss the small grin that Cloud had on his face though. The boys said goodbye (Vincent and Yuffie's goodbye lasted much longer though) and left the girls in the house alone.

"Well Tifa you better wear something sexy tomorrow. Wouldn't wanna dissapoint Cloud!" Yuffie winked at her as she said it.

"What? Is there something going on between you two?" asked Aerith.

"In Yuffie's mind there is," replied Tifa.

"Oh c'mon! Cloud was checking her out and hanging all over her all day!"

Tifa blushed at Yuffie's statement because it was kind of true. Cloud had hardly left her side all day. Her phone began buzzing and interrupted her thoughts, she pulled it out of her pocked and looked at her screen. Her heart froze as she read Kadaj's name across it.

I hope you guys like it! Feel free to make suggestions and/or put your ideas on what you want to happen in your reviews. If you guys want to see some more Vincent X Yuffie or Aerith X Zack, I could also write a chapter exclusively focusing on them as well.


	3. Chapter 3

Kyaaa~! So many nice reviews! Thank you everyone who reviewed, and don't be afraid to ask questions or make suggestions! :)

Disclaimer!

I don't own Final Fantasy VII or the movies/video games mentioned in this fanfic. If I did I'd have a car by now.

Kadaj. _'Why is he calling me?' _Tifa thought to herself. She remembered their unpleasant exchange last time they saw one another. She also thought about how today, for the first time since then, he had managed to stay out of her thoughts for the most parts.

"Excuse me," She said to her friends and turned to exit the room as she answered her phone. "Hello?" said Tifa, doing her best to sound as irritated as possible. Unfortunately though she felt she was failing.

"Hey, it's been a while." Kadaj's voice sounded as if nothing had happened between them, as if they were just old friends needing to catch up.

"What do you want?" Tifa was tired of these games. He told her he'd rather spend time with his friends before he had to leave for college, she didn't have a problem with that. But why did he have to leave her out of it? She had always gotten along with all of them. Until she found out he had been ditching them to hang out with her. An attempt for him to make up for the lie that he told. Well it doesn't work when he makes his friends hate her by making them think she's forcing Kadaj to ditch them to satisfy her. Tifa would never want that! If Kadaj already had plans with his friends then he should just say so! There was also him bumming "gas" money from her but really using it to buy beer for partying (which she had to find out about through other people).

"I don't like how things ended between us. What're you doing tomorrow?" He asked. She could hear some sympathy in his voice and it made her heart twitch. She wanted an apology, for things to be back to normal between them. She was also tired of being strung along too though. Maybe it was best to leave things at a bad ending, that way she wouldn't be tempted to go back.

"I'm seeing a movie with some friends."

"Oh. Well who are you going with? Maybe I could tag along?"

"The girls, Vincent, Zack, and Cloud. And no. That wouldn't be a good idea. They don't think very much of you anymore."

"Wait. Cloud's going with you? You're moving on pretty fast, aren't you?"

Tifa was confused by his comment. _'What's he talking about? Don't tell me he has the same crazy idea as Yuffie.'_

"What do you mean by that? How am I moving on?" She inquired.

"Oh, just that he spent practically all night at my bonfire hitting on you and it seems you've finally noticed. Look, I'll take you to see the movie. I really want to make up for last time, please." He was practically pleading now. Was that a bit of jealousy that Tifa heard? Did he see Cloud as a threat? That was weird because Cloud and Kadaj had been old friends, that was the whole reason Cloud had been at his bonfire.

"Sorry. I already made plans with my friends. See how simple that is Kadaj? Not ditching your friends in an attempt to satisfy someone else. Being honest really is easy you know. Now stop calling me, I don't want anything to do with you. Goodbye." And with that she hung up the phone. _'Damn that felt good,' _thought Tifa to herself with a smile. _'Maybe Yuffie's right and I do need a new hottie to take my mind off of things.'_ Her smile faded at this thought. She was supposed to try to get things normal between her and Cloud, not use him as a rebound. _'I can't use him like that. No matter how much I hurt. I can't use Cloud as a puppet. Rebound relationships never end well, I can't hurt him.'_ Tifa considered the possibility of a rebound relationship ending well, but the odds were too slim for her to take the chance. She eventually decided to stop thinking about it and head on to bed with her friends.

The girls awoke the next morning like they usually did at a sleepover at Yuffie's. With Aerith hogging the majority of the bed and Yuffie's music playing softly in the background. _'I need to stop getting stuck sleeping in the middle.' _ Tifa thought to herself as she was attempting to get up. Yuffie was already up, heading out the room to most likely start making pancakes like she usually did at their sleepovers. Tifa turned to shake Aerith awake. "Mmmmm" was her friends only response.

"Come on Aerith, you'll never have enough time to get ready if you don't get up."

"Wake me when the food's ready."

"Fine, then I get the bathroom first," Tifa said as she threw the covers off herself and rose out of the bed.

"No! Me first!" And with that Aerith was bounding out the door and towards the bathroom.

"What?" Tifa groaned, Aerith always took forever it seemed.

It was a while later after the girls had eaten that they were seemingly ready to go. Until Yuffie started complaining about Tifa's choice of clothing that is.

"You can't wear that!" She proclaimed pointing accusingly at Tifa's attire.

"What's wrong with this?" asked Tifa as she looked down at herself. She had shorts and a t-shirt on. Nothing seemed wrong. Yuffie was acting like she was trying to wear a garbage bag outside or something.

"You have to wear something sexy! SEXY!"

"What about her schoolgirl outfit?" asked Aerith as she turned to rummage through Tifa's bag.

"Yeah! Did you bring it Tifa?"

Of course she brought it. It was her favorite outfit, with the thigh high stockings, plaid skirt, knee high boots, and camisole. She always felt most confident while wearing it and she wasn't sure how many days their sleepover would last this time so of course she packed it.

"Yep! Here it is!" declared Aerith as she held it in the air.

"Great! Now, Tifa you can either put it on yourself or we can put it on you and that's just going to make things awkward but I'm willing to risk it!" Yuffie shouted. Tifa knew she wasn't kidding either so she sighed in defeat and put on the outfit she was now regretting that she brought.

The boys arrived in Cloud's car soon afterwards and the girls went to meet them outfront. "Alright, so how're we doing this?" Asked Zack, "There's six of us but Clouds Car only fits five so we're going to have to split up."

"Oh! I'll drive!" Yuffie declared as she turned to start running towards her car. Vincent's hands stopped her fortunately.

"I'll drive," giggled Aerith catching the hint. Vincent nodded his head in appreciation.

"I drive too, we just filled the tank." Cloud said.

"Alright! So everyone pick a car!" said Zack as he turned toward Aerith's ride.

Tifa looked at Yuffie and saw a michievious grin on her face as she pulled on Vincent's hand and dashed towards Aerith's car as well.

_'Shit.' _That meant that Tifa would be riding with Cloud. Which really wouldn't be that much of a problem except they would be ALONE and she was wearing her schoolgirl outfit which just screamed seduction. She just smiled at Cloud like nothing was wrong though, "Guess it's just us." She then headed towards his car to sit in the front passenger seat. She was surprised by how nicely kept his car was. He didn't have trash or dirty clothes or anything like that strung about. It kind of put her car to shame honestly.

The car ride to the theatre was relatively normal. They chatted about the movie they were about to see, the game it was based off of, and how they thought it would compare. At the theatre however when they were in line with their friends to pay for the tickets Cloud stood in front of her in the line. "Two please," he said and then turned around to hand her one.

Tifa took it, surprised at the gesture. "Oh, thank you. You didn't have to do that though, I had enough money." She was a little embaressed to be honest, she could see Yuffie and Aerith grinning like crazy at her and she felt her face heat up.

"It's no problem," Cloud replied. He was so indifferent about it that it made Tifa feel so stupid about reading so much into it.

_'Right. It's nothing, friends pay for each other all the time. No big deal.' _She couldn't even count all the times she paid for Aerith or Yuffie so how was this any different?

The movie went well and Tifa was grateful for the normalcy of it all. The group went out to eat afterwards (in which Tifa made sure to pay for herself to avoid awkwardness from happening again) and talked about the movie they saw. It wasn't until they were back at Yuffie's that Cloud made his next move.

Tifa and Cloud had been talking about games non stop all night it seemed. Tifa was very proud of her gaming collection and loved talking about games in general, so she really lost herself once she started talking about them. Cloud enjoyed this. Watching her get so passionate, how easy she was to talk to. Not to mention how fluidly she moved in that miniskirt... Cloud immediatly shook the thoughts away. Although it was extremely hard for him not to stare. Especially since he was pretty sure she wouldn't even notice once she started talking.

He began to tell her about some of the games that he had.

"Really? I've never even seen a copy of that in person!" She exclaimed, stopping in her tracks to face him.

"You can come over and take a look at it if you want," he said.

"Sure! How about tomorrow?" Tifa really wasn't paying attention to what she was saying now. All she could think of was the rare game that Cloud possessed and how she would kill to even hold it in her hands.

"That's cool with me. What time do you want me to pick you up?" Asked Cloud.

"Umm, how about three? I really like to sleep in."

Cloud laughed a little at that, "Same here. That sounds good to me, so I'll see you tomorrow."

They said their goodbyes and it took a couple of minutes for Tifa to realize what she had gotten herself into. _'I'm going to be in Cloud's room tomorrow. Alone. With him.' _She blushed at the very thought. They've hung out before, but always with other friends and certaintly never in one another's bedrooms! _'Maybe someone else will be at his house if I'm lucky.' _She thought, but Tifa's luck hadn't been very good lately.

I hope you guys like it! Thanks again for all the nice reviews, I'm happy knowing that I make my readers happy :)


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks again to everyone who reviewed! Your reviews are much appreciated and I'm so sorry it has taken me this long to update. I'm thinking about changing my penname soon so please don't be alarmed when I do so! Also, feel free to make suggestions! **

**Disclaimer!**

**I don't own Final Fantasy VII or any of the video games mentioned in this fanfic. If so, then I'd be so rich I wouldn't need to attend college.**

Tifa barely slept, and when she did she wished that she could just stay asleep forever. She woke much earlier than she usually did too, before noon in fact. She dreaded the hours as they crept closer to three o'clock. _'What have I gotten myself into?' _she thought, _'I don't even know what I'm supposed to wear! I mean this isn't a date so I should definitely go casual. But HE might consider this a date and I don't want to disappoint him if he does….Wait! Why do I care? It's not like I like him that way right? Right?' _

Tifa eventually resorted to shorts, sneakers, and a black tank top with red hearts on it. She was brushing her long hair and thinking about changing into something that wasn't so low cut when she heard her phone buzzing. Thinking it was Yuffie calling to pester her she answered it without looking.

"Yuffie? Is that you? Thank God! I need your help with this date-but-not-a-date thing with Cloud!"

"What did you just say?" Came the voice on the other end, and it was most certainly not Yuffie's.

'_Oh god.'_

"You're going on a date with him Tifa? Or is it not a date?" Kadaj's voice came through clearly.

"It's umm…. I'm not sure really. We just made plans to hang out at his place." Why she felt the need to explain this to Kadaj, her ex of all people, she did not know.

"Is that so? Listen, I want to try and make a long distance relationship work for us so please, just cancel your plans with him and I can come over to your house right now."

Tifa was baffled by his proclamation and didn't quite know how to respond to it. If he had made it a couple of days ago she would have accepted without hesitation so what was making her hesitate now?

"No, I'm not canceling on Cloud. And why do you want a long distance relationship all of a sudden? I think you just want it because you're afraid someone else is going to take me away from you soon." She knew she was right. Kadaj was the possessive type indeed and if he saw Cloud as a threat then he only wanted this so that someone else couldn't have her. Not because he wanted her.

"I want it because I know we can work this out. Are you sure you wanna go hang out with him Tifa? He's going to make a move on you, you know."

'_What? A move? Cloud wouldn't do that…would he?'_

Yeah she knew Cloud had had girlfriends before so he had to have busted moves on them but Tifa just couldn't picture him doing so to her.

"Well maybe that's what I want."

"What did you just say?"

And with that Tifa hung up. Not at a bad time either, because she heard the front door open. She quickly grabbed her purse and headed to the front of her house.

"Oh you're one of Tifa's friends? She'll be here in a minute, it's so nice to meet you!" Her mother was standing there chatting it up with Cloud. Now that Tifa thought about it they hadn't exactly met before. The last time she probably saw him was at one of their elementary class parties or a track meet they were both in.

"Yes, I'm Cloud it's nice to meet you." Cloud looked very uncomfortable talking with Tifa's mother, he tried to avoid making eye contact and stood a few feet away from her and kept shifting from one foot to the other. _'How cute.'_ Tifa had never seen him like this before and had never pegged him as the shy, socially awkward type with strangers. _'Well, I better rescue him.'_

"I'm here mom, you can stop chatting his ear off now," Tifa stepped towards them and went to Cloud's side.

"Oh well Tifa you didn't tell me you had a date today!" Tifa's mother definitely wasn't helping her situation any.

"Let's go Cloud!" She tugged on his arm and led him out the door.

Cloud gave her a smirk as they got into his car, "You seem a little nervous," he said.

Tifa did her best to play it cool "What? No, why would I be nervous? Do I have a reason to be?"

He slightly shrugged in response, "That's for you to decide."

The ride to his house was silent for the most part, Tifa did however take the time to notice that he was dressed somewhat nice. He wore a short sleeved button up shirt that was open to reveal another shirt on underneath. She blushed as she realized that she was practically checking him out and wasn't exactly being discreet about it.

When they arrived at his house she grew even more anxious. "Is anybody else at your house?" she asked.

"Nope. Mom's off at work and Zack's actually living at his place for once."

Tifa grinned at this, she knew Zack spent most of his time practically living at Cloud's house pestering him and forcing him to be more social.

The house was a small two bedroom one, about the size of Tifa's really, and when Tifa saw Cloud's room she was a bit shocked.

_'It's cleaner than mine!'_

His room was practically spotless, no dirty clothes on the floor, bed nicely made, all of his games and books neatly organized. It made her a bit ashamed of the condition of her own room really.

"Do you want anything to drink?"

"Oh! Uh, sure, water's fine!" She was startled out of gawking at his room. After he left she stood there somewhat awkwardly then decided to make her way to his video games. Just as Cloud entered his room she found his treasure and let out an excited squeal.

"Kyaa! It's Ergheiz! Oh my gosh I've never seen a copy in person! Where did you find this at?" She turned and ran excitedly over to him

Cloud was smirking at her once again, "I went into a vintage game store and just got lucky. You can go ahead and play it if you want."

"Really? You won't mind? Ok!" Tifa was ecstatic as she started up the game and took a seat on his bed, controller in hand.

They spent awhile playing the game, taking turns and talking about random things. Everything was going great until the topic of Kadaj came up.

"So are you and him really over?" Cloud asked nonchalantly.

Tifa was still playing the game which she was greatful for because it made her feel much more relaxed, "Yeah, but he called me today. It was kind of annoying really."

"Oh? What did you guys talk about?"

"He found out I was hanging out with you today, then said he wanted a long distance relationship, I said no, and then he said you were going to bust a move on me"

_'Crap.' _She had not meant to say that last part.

"He said that?"

Tifa paused the game and put the controller down, and for the first time she noticed just how close they were. They were both sitting on his bed side by side with their legs slightly touching and he was looking at her intently. _'Oh his eyes are gorgeous.'_

"Tifa?" Cloud's voice snapped her out of gawking into his eyes awkwardly.

She quickly averted her gaze to her hands in her lap, "Yeah...Are you mad?"

"Why would I be mad?"

"Oh, uh I don't know. That he said that? Are you going to make a move?"

_'Crap again.'_ What was it about him that made her babble out whatever thought popped into her head? She quickly blushed.

Cloud leaned his head closer to her, trying to get her to look at him, "Are you wanting me to make a move?"

Her heart pounded, and out of the corner of her eyes she could see his face slightly in front of hers as he leaned forward on the bed beside her. "Um, I don't know. If you want to, I guess that would be fine with me."

Her entire body had to be red at this point. _'Shit! Why did I just say that? I must seem so desperate! He probably wasn't even planning on making a move on me, hell he probably doesn't even like me that way. I bet it was just my imagination and Yuffie's damn theory about him liking me.'_

"Well that's going to be hard if you won't even look at me"

Tifa's head instantly shot up as she processed what he just said. Her eyes met his pristine blue ones and she froze. They slowly moved closer to hers and stopped as their lips were only an inch apart. Tifa wanted this, she wanted the kiss but for some reason she was frozen in place. Luckily Cloud closed the gap for her.

As their lips meant Tifa's body was immediatly on fire, his lips massaged gently against hers and she grabbed onto his shirt to hold him close. He broke away far too soon for her taste. "So how was that?" He asked.

"I'll need to try again to make a decision. And longer this time please." She grinned at him and tugged on his shirt to bring him closer to her. He returned the grin and complied. Their lips met once again as his gently massaged against hers. He wrapped one muscular arm around her waist and the other to her back to bring her closer to him. She kept a tight grip on his shirt and her other hand lingered on his chest, feeling the muscles underneath. It then journeyed to the back of his neck where she lightly gripped his hair holding him close. She gladly opened her mouth to his and felt his tongue play with hers.

Their contact quickly became more heated as he leaned into her and before she knew it, Tifa was on her back with Cloud leaning over her. His arm was still wrapped around her and the other one was lightly touching the side of her waist, slowly wandering up and down.

_'Oh god just take me now'._

*Slam!*

They both jumped and Cloud leapt off of her. It was the sound of the front door slamming that broke them apart so suddenly.

"Cloud I'm home! Sorry about the noise, the front door needs fixing you know, it is one of your chores! Anyway, I just came home to grab something then I'll be leaving again in a bit." That must be his mother's voice, Tifa was VERY grateful that Cloud's bedroom door was currently closed.

"Okay Mom." Cloud yelled back to her.

Tifa sat up and they both sat there in silence as they listened and waited for his mom to leave once again. After hearing her car pull out of the driveway they proceeded to sit there in silence. Tifa looked over at Cloud and wasn't sure what to say at first until she noticed how he was sitting. He had his hand _conveniently_ placed in his lap as if to cover something...

_'I can't resist!'_

She grinned evily, "What're you doing with your hand in your lap Cloud?"

His face turned away from her, "No reason."

Was that a hint of blush she saw? "Then why don't you remove it and hold my hand instead?"

"No thanks, I'm fine."

"What? You can kiss me but not hold my hand?" She was doing her best to hold back her laughter but to no avail.

Cloud's head shot to look at her, "Alright so you know. I have a boner. Why did you have to ask?"

Tifa began laughing uncontrollably. "I really don't see what's so funny," he stated. Yep, that was definitely blush Tifa saw.

"I'm sorry, I just couldn't help it! I wasn't expecting you to...well...get so excited." She was still chuckling as Cloud took a hold of both of her wrists and pushed her back on the bed.

He leaned over her smirking, "I know how you can make it up to me."

She realized she was in a very compromising position but because it was Cloud over her, she didn't feel threatened at all. "Sorry, I don't do that stuff on first dates. Hell I usually don't kiss on first dates either."

"Time to start a new tradition then?" He asked. She giggled at this and pushed him off of her.

"No! And I wouldn't really call this a date anyway."

"Then maybe we should go on one sometime." He leaned back on the bed beside her.

Tifa had to think before she responded. She didn't want to lead him one, but when she thought about it she really did want a date with him so why not try to give this a chance? "Sure, I'd love to go on one sometime." She smiled at him.

"Then you can make it up to me then," and there was that damn smirk of his again. She rolled her eyes grinning and smacked him with a pillow.

The rest of their time together went smoothly with the two of them playing video games, talking, and yes kissing as well. Tifa was very happy when she arrived at home and hoped that their next encounter would go just as well.

She felt guilt in her heart however. Tifa recalled their first kiss that day. She froze because she wasn't sure herself why she wanted it. She remembered what she was thinking at the time though. She didn't move because she was unsure if she wanted to kiss Cloud. She felt like she would be betraying Kadaj for some reason, and then she wanted the kiss just so she could forget him, and try to move one. And that is where her guilty heart comes from.

_'I'm just using him.'_


	5. Chapter 5

**So sorry it's taken me so long to update! . Though you guys are probably tired of hearing this. College and life in general has gotten in the way. I'm thinking of doing some one-shots on the side whenever I don't have inspiration to continue this story so feel free to make requests!**

**Disclaimer! I don't own Final Fantasy or any of the other movies/games mentioned.**

Tifa was debating with herself on whether or not to skip school. She couldn't stop thinking about the kiss between her and Cloud. The very thought of their encounter would make her blush and she could feel her whole body heating up. She eventually decided to not be a coward and just go.

_'Maybe I should have set some boundaries with him. I don't want him to think we're dating. Not that there's anything wrong with that! I'm just not sure if I'm ready…_'

She snapped out of her thoughts as she was opening her locker and heard his voice. Tifa tried her best not to blush and discreetly looked his way. It was just Zack goofing around with Cloud in the hall as usual. Then his eyes met hers. She quickly looked away and turned her full attention to her locker.

Tifa's intentions were to avoid him at all costs and talk privately with him after school if at all possible. Unfortunately though, she sat right in between him and Zack during her first class of the day. It was Mr. Hewley's class they were in and he was pretty strict when it came to teaching so they knew better than to start talking. Tifa was very grateful for this and was hoping that she could make it through the entire class without having to experience a socially awkward conversation with a friend she made out with the day before.

She began blushing once that thought entered her mind. She looked to her left and saw Zack grinning at her._ 'He knows! Dammit! I didn't think Cloud would be the kiss-and-tell type at all! Jerk!'_ Tifa then quickly looked to her right to glare at Cloud though she didn't think her glare looked very menacing considering she was still blushing like crazy.

Cloud jumped when he noticed her glare however and did nothing but give her a questioning look until he looked past her and saw Zack's maniacal grin plastered across his face. It was at this point that the bell rang and the class began to shuffle out. Cloud caught up with Tifa as she stepped out of the class and fell into step with her. "Are you busy today?" he asked. "Not particularly." She replied, unsure if she should be flustered or angry at this point. "Good, because we're going on a date." And with that he sped ahead of her. "A what?" Tifa stopped in her tracks.

_'I knew I should've worn something nicer today.' Tifa thought as she looked down at herself in jeans and a baggy t-shirt in dismay. 'It's rude not to give a lady more notice when wanting to take her on a date! Though I guess he did mention going on one the day before. I just didn't think it'd be this soon.'_

After this the day passed all too quickly for her liking. Cloud stood by and waited patiently for her as she slowly got the books that she needed out of her locker at the end of the day. She shut her locker door and turned with her backpack full of books towards Cloud. He promptly grabbed onto her bag and slung it over his own shoulder however.

"Y-You don't have to do that," she said blushing once more as she noticed the confused looks that their classmates in the hall were giving them.

"It's fine." Was all he said as he headed towards the door.

'_I guess it's no trouble for him since he never carries one but everybody's going to know there's something between us now! It's not a bad thing but I'll have to answer all of these questions and it's been less than a month since Kadaj and I have broken up, oh god I bet I look like such a tramp right now.'_

When they reached Cloud's car (a very nice two-door mustang) Tifa was grateful that he didn't open the door for her like she was suspecting. That would have been much too formal for her taste. He casually threw her bag and the books that he was carrying into the backseat as they were getting in.

"So, um, where are we going?" Tifa asked nervously.

"I just thought we'd do dinner and a movie if that's cool with you."

"Yeah that's fine. Perfect really, there's a new one out that I think we'd both like." He grinned as she said this, "I think I know exactly which one you're thinking of."

When they arrived at the theatre he had indeed been thinking of the exact one. They had about two hours until the movie started and he suggested they kill some time in the arcade. Once Tifa found a game she wanted to play and tried to put her money in to do so he would always stop her and insist on paying for her.

"It doesn't make sense for you to do that, you're not the one playing it." She wasn't used to being spoiled like this. It made her feel a little awkward to be honest.

"No, but I am the one who asked you on a date so it's only natural that I pay for you."

That reasoning was why she didn't object when he paid for the movie tickets when they first got there but she still didn't this was right.

"Then let's play a two player one instead!"

"I would but it's not exactly polite to shame a girl at an arcade game on the first date," He said grinning at her.

"Oh you're dead."

After that they played air hockey (Tifa's best game) and various other games as well. Cloud eventually wandered towards a claw machine.

"Those things are rigged you know, I never win anything out of them." She said as he was putting money inside of it.

"I'm actually pretty good at them."

He was in fact! He won a multi-colored mouse (at least they thought it was a mouse) on his first try. He immediately handed it to Tifa.

"Oh. Well if you're sure you don't want it!" Tifa smiled as she took it from him, as odd looking as it was it was still awfully cute.

"Stuffed animals aren't my thing. Did you see any in my room?"

"I wasn't looking,"

"Oh? Too distracted?"

Tifa blushed at this and gripped the mouse closely to her. "Y-Yes! But it was from the game! Not from the…other stuff."

It was Cloud's turn to laugh now. "Oh shut up!" She smacked him with the mouse still blushing. "Come on, the movie's going to start soon!" With that she turned on her heel and headed out of the arcade area.

The movie went well, about fifteen minutes into it Cloud reached over and grabbed her hand. This made Tifa's whole body heat up despite the fact that it was just innocent hand holding. They stayed holding hands throughout the entire movie and walked out as well. She loved the feel of his hand, it was much bigger than hers and was rough and yet soft at the same time. It felt strong to her and she didn't like when he let go when they got to the car.

"So what're you hungry for?"

"Anything sounds good to me," the date was already the best one she had ever been on that she honestly didn't care where they went to eat at.

"No. You pick."

"Well there's that new place on Main Street that we could go to, I heard it's pretty good." She wasn't sure how expensive it would be though but if it turned out to be incredibly overpriced she would insist that they go somewhere else.

The restaurant was pretty nice and wasn't expensive at all either. When the check came Tifa was prepared and pulled out her wallet to try and pay for both of them. Cloud then quickly reached across the table and took it.

"Hey!" Protested Tifa, she was quite shocked that her date had just stolen her wallet.

"Stop doing that. I'm paying for the date."

"But it's not fair that you have to pay for everything I mean the date involves both of us after all!" She sat back and pouted as he placed his card on top of the ticket.

"I'm the one that asked so just don't worry about it."

Tifa still didn't like that logic, she would definitely need to repay him for this.

'_Wait. __**"Then you can make it up to me then,"**__ that's what he said when we were…fooling around. He doesn't expect me to put out does he?! No, Cloud isn't the type to take a girl out just to get some action. But then again he did bring up that I can make it up to him after a date and now he's taking me on one.'_

"Tifa?" Cloud's voice pulled her out of her thoughts, "You ready to go?"

"Yeah, sure." She felt a little sick to her stomach thinking about how it was possible that this wonderful date was only because the guy expected something afterwards. Although that's how a lot of guys think she supposed, but still.

She talked with him as he drove like nothing was wrong but she still felt uneasy. She was a little surprised when he pulled up to her house.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, noticing how she looking slightly confused.

"No, I just thought that we'd be going back to your place or something."

'_Oh god I am a tramp. Why did I just say that? And why do I feel disappointed?'_

"No it's getting pretty late and we have school tomorrow so I didn't think you'd be up for late night gaming. We can go hang out some more if you want though."

Playing games into the early hours of the morning sounded like the perfect end to the date to Tifa but he was right about it being late and she hated going to school without enough sleep.

"No! It's fine! Um, thank you so much for the date. I had a lot of fun."

"No problem, me too." Cloud was blushing a little much to her delight. He then walked her to the door and she stood there holding the mouse he had won her closely to her chest.

"Would you want to go on another one with me sometime?" He asked still blushing slightly.

"Sure," she smiled at him "But only if I get to pay next time!"  
"Not gonna happen." Now he had that damn grin on his face.

"Oh yes it will."  
"It'll be kind of hard for you to pay without your wallet though." Cloud said as he presented the wallet in question.

Tifa's eyes went wide as she realized he still had her wallet.

"Hey! Give it back!" She made a grab for it but he yanked it out of her reach and held it above his head. She then made another jump for it not realizing how close she was to him. Her breasts were against his chest with his free hand now residing on her lower back while her own was grabbing onto his arm that was still in the air and the other gripping the mouse. He then lowered his hand enough for her to grab it but kept his hand firmly on her back. This is when she realized how close they were and was then stuck staring into his eyes.

'_I swear I'll never get tired of staring into them.'_

It was now Tifa who was making the move , she leaned in and gently placed her lips on his.


End file.
